Bos Vintage Ale

Formerly brewed at Bos Brewery and Bistro
Style: Barley Wine
Pontiac, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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What can I say about this beer? Three vintages (02, 03, 04) shared among the jolly folk at the 12 Hour Pizza Port Belgian Beer Fest. Something syrup to counteract all those flowery dry beers we’d been drinking. What I remember of this beer is a volatility and heat, unparalled. We worked from old to young and things seemed to progress towards the heat. Aroma was a bubblegum and sugar syrup blazing alcohols, with faint edges of tequila, pine sap and fermenting oranges. It scorched the nostrils like only a 19.5% beer can. It made you stand up and go, "Holy shit, that’s freakin’ hot!" In the glass, a ruby-tinted amber pour, with glassine edges and nearly calm. In the mouth, an immeadiate intimidation of though rubbing alcohol has entered the mouth accidentally. After the initial shock, a calming movement of piney malt syrup, old dates, pectin candies, and some Cointreau. A lot of esters and really old, tired yeast cloud the middle. Out the back, a real tar-paper piney sensation and possible some hops. I really didn’t get a sense that oxidation worried these beers, only the massive amounts of yeast, esters and residual sugars that make this beer what it is. As we moved to newer vintages, the alcohols only got warmer and more singing and the turpentine nature of this brew became more apparent. Unfortunately it was a little wild to drink more than a few drams of each vintage.

355mL 2004 ed courtesy of FlandersNed. The pour is a tepid, deep mahogany generating a weak, yellow head. Nose is sweet licorice, raspberry, vanillin oak, cookie. Not much oxidation. Taste is huge umami/soy, sweet molasses, Marmite, savory beef broth like. Not too bad. Feels like an old, tawny, English barleywine. Perhaps a prototype for later Kuhnhenn barleywines. Whopping 20% is not too evident, which is scary. Pretty easy to enjoy.

Unlabeled bottle courtesy of GT2 - thanks ( I think). Murky brown color, no head or lacing. Aroma of booze, wood, vanilla. Taste is slightly boozy chocolate syrup and buttersotch. Interesting.

’04 Vintage from GT2. Pours lightly hazy tawny with no lacing or head. Aroma is heavy malt (caramel, cookie, bread), light hops with oxidized notes, dark fruits of plum and dates, medium alcohol. Flavor is sugary malt and light-medium alcohol, no bitterness, sweet finish with a brown sugar and dark fruit notes. Full body, high warmth, and light carbonation.

Another great beer had thanks to some great ratebeerians. Cheers! I have wanted to try this for some time now, years! It pours mahogany with almost no head. The aroma is caramel, minced fig meat, brown sugar coated prunes, full up sherry wet cardboard, wood and some soy sauce . . . smells great for a 2003. The taste has a sense of a steak marinade for a while along with caramel candy goodness running right into a sense of chili peppers, some brown sugar simmering beats, figs and prunes. Wow! A lot of stuff is going on here and it all works together very well. Damn nice beer.

Big thanks to hoppymeal for this one in trade. 2003 Bottle. Pours a dark amber with a teeny off-white head. Nose is port, sherry, raisins, dates, figs, plums, and hints of brandy and booze. Flavor is similar with a ton of peat and ash in the front (where did some of this some from?) and finish then pepper , brown sugar, and earth, with bits of soy sauce. Syrupy in the mouthfeel and a triumphant underdog of a barleywine.

2004 bottle generously shared by Doug, thanks
Appearance: Pours dark brown with a very small head, no lacing
Aroma: Dark malts and fruits, chocolate and sweet candy
Taste: Sweet dark malts and fruit, chocolate, bourbon and molasses
I really like this beer, surprised that it was 19%.

Unlabeled 2004 vintage. Pours a murky brown color with only a few wisps of a white head. A massive sweet fruity and sugary nose. Some tobacco in there as well. A very sweet and only somewhat hot flavor; oxidation, nutty, rich fruit, berries, caramel, tobacco, molasses, a heavy sweet sugary finish. Has held up incredibly. 19%- no way.

Epic man, thanks riversideak! 2002. boozy sting on the nose, bourbony salty nose, damp dog. bbq sauce? purple tinted mahogany, no more carbonation. Pimpin ain’t easy. dark jammy raisin, tobacco and chewy wood. reminds me of my beloved triple bock with each additional sip. country boy will survive.

12oz bottle 02, thanks riversideak. Pours a still deep walnut brown. Nose is full of sherry port, boiled with brown sugar, prune and leather. Whoa! This bitch is rough smelling. Viscous and syrupy. Wow, deep rich boozy prune, brown sugar, raisin juice and tobacco. It reminds me of the first time I had red man leaf chew. Thanks for the chance to try this Alex.

Big sweet oxidized nose. Raisins, leather, maple syrup, brown sugar, alcohol. Super sugary sweet and boozy. Dark auburn no head, still, thick syrupy. Raisins, leather, syrup, roast, smokey notes. Super sweet. Long ass boil. Nail polish remover. Mouth burning and sweet but with some ashy dryness. Low carbonation. Hella tobaccoey.